Dr. Shashi Tharoor, MP

Shri Tom Jose IAS, Chief Secretary,

Shri Shyam Srinivasan, Chief Executive Officer, Federal Bank,

Shri Jayanth Mammen Mathew, Executive Editor, Malayala   Manorama,

Shri Johny Lukose, Director News, Manorama News,

Madhyama Suhruthukkale,

Sahodaree Sahodaranmare,

Ellaavarkkum Ente Namaskaaram.

I deem it a privilege to inaugurate  “Keralam Naale – a  Development Conclave” organised by Malayala Manorama and Manorama News supported by Federal Bank.

Let me at the outset, place on record, my appreciation for the efforts taken by Malayala Manorama to organize this programme, which is a laudable attempt to bring our society's attention to the process of rebuilding Kerala after the flood.  The keen interest with which you have organized this event reflects the collective wish of Keralites all over the world to do everything possible to regain the prosperity that the recent floods had snatched away from our beloved State.

This initiative is also indicative of the commitment shown by Malayala Manorama towards the progressive actions that strengthened the social and cultural transformation of Kerala.

 As I address you now, the events in our State in the last four years flash in my mind.  In the four years and three months I have served Kerala as the Governor, there have been many instances when I felt extremely proud to be here. There were many achievements which threw light on Kerala's position as one of the most advanced societies in our country. To me, Kerala was always a land blessed by Nature with the best climate, the luxuriant greenery and a prosperity earned through hard work.

But, in the last year, we had seen coastal Kerala going through a bad patch with the cyclone Ockhi venting its anger on the hapless fisher-folk. Barely some months after the devastating cyclone, we saw our people in nearly all districts, suffer the ravages of the worst floods in the century – a disaster that brought hundreds of people from prosperity to poverty in a matter of days.

However, even in the midst of this unprecedented tragedy, I felt proud to bear witness to the strong resolve of the people to overcome the disaster. I must admit that the spontaneous unity and co-operation of our people in response to the challenges thrown up by the floods was a model for the whole country.  The youth whom we thought were engrossed in their mobile phones, unmindful of the world around them, surprised us with their active role in rescue and relief.

Our people did not need a call to unite; instead, they felt the need and acted on their own. The relief camps were flooded with food and clothes and we experienced the true sparkle of Onam in the love we offered our brethren in distress. The Government of India also was quick to react to the situation by launching a massive rescue and relief operations with 40 helicopters, 31 aircraft, 182 teams for rescue, 18 Defence Forces medical teams, 58 teams of National Disaster Response Force, seven companies of Central Armed Police Force, Navy and Coast Guard ships and over 500 boats with necessary rescue equipment. Most of you are aware that the Honorable Prime Minister had clarified to me that the Rs.600 crore released by the Centre in addition to the Rs.562.45 crore already made available in the State Disaster Response Fund of Kerala, was only the advance aid. Of course, additional funds have also been released recently.

Since this programme is organized by a leading media group, a word about how the media in Kerala reacted to the calamity will not be out of place. I must admit that the media platforms, especially newspapers and news channels in Kerala gave the maximum information and even served as informal control rooms to direct people's grievances to the rescue teams. News channels compromised on revenue by avoiding some advertisements so that they could utilize the airtime for disseminating vital information. They also waged a war against Fake News during the crisis. And our youth had used the social media platforms to spread awareness and to encourage volunteer work.

I must also mention the oneness we saw among political parties, which seemed to give a holiday for controversies. I hope this trend would continue in the months to come so that we stay united to rebuild Kerala. Now that more than hundred days have passed since the waters have receded, the question is :  Can the State sustain that unity in rebuilding Kerala ?

The real magnitude of the calamity has now emerged, with the United Nations Post Disaster Need Assessment report stating that Kerala needs Rs.31000 crores for the rebuilding initiatives. The figure arrived at, is a huge amount for a small state like Kerala. However, it is good that we could amass around Rs.2800 crores as contributions for the Chief Minister's Distress Relief Fund from all over India and abroad.

I understand that the Post Disaster Need Assessment [PDNA] report says that it would take over Rs.10000 crore to reconstruct our roads and transportation infrastructure. Housing would require Rs.5443 crore and another nearly Rs.5000 crore to breathe life into agriculture and allied areas.  I am not going to all the details, but I must stress the creation of biodiversity management committees for the preparation of the environmental impact assessment related to development. And, our primary responsibility must be to bring back the lost glory by making ours a truly green state.

For this we have to build on the four areas namely,  integrated water resources management, eco-sensitive  approaches to land use and planning, inclusive and people centred approaches, and the adoption of knowledge, innovation and technology. Why I stress these areas is because the floods and landslides had shown us clearly that our neglect of the environmentally sensitive areas had been a major cause of the unprecedented disaster.

You may recall that we had initiated a Navakeralam Mission to rebuild Kerala, even before the floods came. We had drafted some plans too, but now, those plans have to be revisited. May be we could consider the amendment of  Articles 73  and 74 of our Constitution and give the Grama Panchayats the right to keep in abeyance  some  projects so that they can  take up the  rebuilding  projects.

While we should look for globally successful models to rebuild our State, we must also rethink on the way we have been planning our infrastructure. The way we develop our cities must be in accordance with the changing climate and its impact. We have to rebuild roads that can survive any flood.  Even our idea of the living spaces we occupy needs a rethinking. 

This rethinking can come only through a change in mindset about the very idea of development. This needs a lot of awareness creation. First of all, the feeling that God's own country is immune to disasters must go. We must also know the implications of our actions, especially with respect to development and be ready to correct them.  Effective waste management was something we could not achieve even in the days before the flood. Now, the lack of such a mechanism has made it necessary to think of waste management with utmost priority.

The floods had thrown up challenges which are economic, social, environmental, scientific, cultural, political, religious and even psychological in nature. We have started addressing some of these issues, especially those in the area of health.   But our major challenge is to stand together as we did during the floods and to make a beginning by prioritizing our needs. The amounts we received must not lie idle in our coffers. Let the work start; money would come as we show the nation and world how we utilize what we have.

I sincerely hope that this Kerala development conclave of Malayala Manorama will prove to be extremely meaningful and constructive.  I also hope that Malayala Manorama will continue the initiative every year and support the development of Kerala.

I compliment the organizers for conducting this function in a befitting manner.

Ellavarkkum Ente Aashamsakal

Nanni

Jai Hind

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